21 January 2013

Book Review:The Things They Didn't Bury by Laekan Zea Kemp

“Then he kissed her without breathing, without thinking. He kissed her until his entire body was tingling from the taste of her.”

♥.♥.♥

The first thing that comes to my mind when it comes to Argentina is of course - the phenomenal:

But after reading The Things They Didn't Bury, set just three years after the Peron Regime, and fourteen years thereafter - I was in a big surprise.

The Things They Didn't Bury offers a vivid glimpse of what Argentina was like. Readers would have the chance to jump into the pages - into the streets and witness everything firsthand. It wasn't paradise. It was a place were men, women and children were either killed or mysteriously disappeared without a trace. People in power abuse power, and people who were against it or thought against it - suffered.

Stated in an alternating point of view between Liliana and Diego, coupled with a voice from the past coming from Isabella's (Liliana's mother)journal. Accidentally stumbling upon it when they returned to Argentina after years living in America, Liliana started to read it. She needed to remember her mother, because sometimes she was not sure anymore if it was a memory or simply a dream. She was young when her mother was either killed or disappeared during the war. Her journal was they key. Little did she know that the journal she was holding kept secrets even she was not even ready to know.

Diegolike other children who have lived through the most chaotic moment of their country's history - witnessed something horrific done by soldiers in the sea. His mother left him - and his father losing his flamenco dancer no longer wants to play music and instead drowns himself in alcohol. Diego was likewise forbidden to play.

LilianaJust graduated from high school when they came back to Argentina. Unlike her sister Nita, she was glad to be finally home. To occupy her mother's room and to study in the same school her mother did. She's curious, and would go to great lengths to find her answer. Her courage is admirable - her quest for truth scares the hell out of me but she pursued it despite the fear of what she may discover.

And in search for truth - Diego and Liliana found ♥love♥.

The Things They Didn't Buryis a story about coming home. It's a tale of finding the truth about your past and being brave enough to face it. It's a tale about family, love, sacrifices and the consequences of war. It's reality in print.

Review Grade:

Favorite Quotes:

“The gypsies were a special breed. It wasn't blood that flowed through their veins but rhythm.”

“Then he kissed her without breathing, without thinking. He kissed her until his entire body was tingling from the taste of her.”

“People weren't made for this kind of thing, he said, the way I feel about you, how much I feel, no one ever has or ever will even come close to it.”

“This journal will stay hidden among the dusty coverless books lining my bookshelf until the day I need to be reminded of who I really am. Then I will come for it and maybe I will read it to my son or daughter and pretend it's just another fairytale, changing every dark moment to light, conquering every villain, and replacing the ending with the one I was robbed off.”

“Time is a false thing, meaningless when it's not attached to colors and people and light because in the dark there is nothing - only the stilted shadows of lie as they wait for the sun.”

Goodreads Reading Challenge

Disclaimers

On Images

This blog does not claim any credit for any of the cover images used here. They are copyrighted to their respective owners. Same applies to all the images used. If an image belongs to you and you wish for it to be removed, please feel free to email me the link for the image and it will be removed immediately. No copyright infringement is intended.

FTC Disclaimer

Book Freak often receives book(s) in exchange for an honest review and is not compensated in any way. In addition, this does not affect any opinion that I have with the book and/or the content of my review.

Affiliate Disclaimer

Book Freak contains affiliate links; which means items purchased from this site will provide small commission which is used for Giveaways and the like.